Council members considered two versions of an ordinance on snow removal at Monday’s regular City Council meeting. Both require tenants or owners to shovel sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall ending, increased from 12 hours.
Option A would give residents a paper notice after the 24-hour period. Code enforcement would charge a fine 24 hours after the notice was delivered.
Option B has the same requirements but no warning system. Councilmember Tricia Arndt said extending the time from 12 hours to 24 hours is a sufficient enough change.
“This ordinance, as written to me, with having staff time visit a property twice is going to cost us money in terms of the workload, and I just don't think we have enough people to do that,” Arndt said.
Arndt said she wants to see Option B go through and will not support Option A.
Dover’s chief code enforcement officer Eddie Kopp said he had an injury after slipping on ice while on the job last year. Other staff have also fallen outside in the winter, Kopp said.
“And this is without us going onto properties,” Kopp said. “This is us just being out on the regular sidewalk… It's a great risk for staff to go up and put that door hanger on there. And I, quite frankly, would rather not take the risk and have data to where our staff is injured before we make a change in the ordinance. I support moving forward without the door hanger for staff safety, and also to be able to cover fully the city of Dover.”
Kopp explained that adding to code enforcement staff’s workload would lessen the area they can cover in a workday.
People can appeal fines under both versions of the ordinance.
Councilmember Brian Lewis said he understands there are concerns for staff safety if they have to hand deliver warnings.
“I would be amenable to eliminate the door hangers,” Lewis said. “But I think to show due diligence, we still have to have some sort of warning system to give our citizens the benefit of the doubt whether that system consists of putting it on the radio, putting it on WBOC and the State News, whatever the case may be, on our website.”
Other council members discussed posting reminders of the city’s snow removal fines on social media.
Dover City Council will make a final decision on the ordinance at its May 12 meeting.
